Towing Issues: Towing damage, tow company, tell tale signs

Question
I am from Michigan to start. My car was towed on a Saturday night by order of the police. I could not get the car back until Monday morning and as I was late for work already I did not check for damage at the time of pick up. After work however I noticed the bumper had been pulled away from right around the headlight. Also the very bottom of the bumper was cracked and the heat shield underneath the car was all crumpled up. I do have pictures. I immediately called the tow company and of course they denied responsibility. They did have their insurance company order an appraisal done and in the report stated that 'the damage is consistent with the report and could have been caused while loading onto a flatbed'. Nevertheless the insurance company denied the damage was caused by the tow company and refused the claim. I have also spoken to a few body shops and in their opinion the damage was caused by loading onto a flatbed truck. Are there any tell tale signs I should look for to prove they caused the damage? Not sure where to go from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Sorry about the delay in answering but it has been real hectic at work lately..

Contrary to belief and all that, a flatbed tow truck can do more damage to a vehicle than towing it with a regular tow truck.

That is due to the angle of the deck when it is being loaded and unloaded. There is a lot of body contact on the vehicle with the carrier bed. If you get a chance to watch someone using a flatbed then you will see what I am talking about.

Sounds like you did the right thing and talked to the tow company about the damages, even though they denied the damage was caused by the towing of the vehicle.

Now some thoughts here, check with the police department who ordered the vehicle to be towed. Many of them do a report and in many cases they look for damages before it is towed. That might help.

Now as to the insurance company, we all know how they work. Give them tons of money, and they will keep it. They will even deny that they are responsible or liable for anything at all. Sounds like what is happening here.

Now you have 2 choices here. First you can file with your insurance company and have them duke it out with the tow company and their insurance company. That might help get it solved.

Or you can file a small claims court case against the tow company AND insurance company. They will have to respond and defend themselves in court in front of a judge.

Now documentation is the key, get as many estimates as you need. Get statements as to what they think caused the damages if possible. Keep good notes and keep on the tow company and insurance company about the claim.

Hope this helps, and from what you said, sounds like you got some good evidence so far in the pictures and statements.